A state Senate committee on Wednesday endorsed legislation to expand the death penalty, but the true test will be whether the bills can get enough support in the full Senate to override a veto by the governor.

The Senate Courts Committee advanced one bill to expand the death penalty to those who assist in a murder but don't do the actual killing and another to allow it for those who kill a fire marshal or his assistant while on the job.

For the past two years, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has vetoed the expansion of Virginia's "triggerman rule," which reserves capital punishment for the person who actually does the killing.

Virginia law already allows the death penalty for murder accomplices in the case of a murder for hire, terrorism and continuing criminal enterprise. The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Mark Obenshain of Harrisonburg, would allow the death penalty for any accomplice who shares the triggerman's intent to kill.

Obenshain's bill passed the committee 8-6 with 1 absention.

While the Republican-controlled House had enough votes to overturn the veto each year, the Democrat-led Senate came just shy of the 2/3 margin necessary to override Kaine.

Kaine, a Democrat, has said he doesn't believe further expansion of capital punishment is necessary. His spokesman, Gordon Hickey, said Wednesday that Kaine's position has not changed.

Sen. Steve Martin's bill would add fire marshals and assistant fire marshals to the long list of law enforcement officers for which killing them in their line of duty is punishable by death. It passed out of the committee on a 12-3 vote.

Both bills passed without debate.

Beth Panilaitis, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said rather than passing laws to expand the death penalty, legislators could better spend their time trying to fix the state's at least $3 billion budget shortfall that threatens to yank money from schools and health care for the poor.

"We don't think that it's in the best interest of the citizens of the commonwealth, especially in a year when we have such a budget crisis," she said.

Another bill to expand capital punishment to those who kill auxiliary police officers and deputy sheriffs has been filed but has not yet been heard by the committee.

Virginia has executed more inmates than any state except Texas since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.

Heidi Salazar

A Senate committee has endorsed legislation to expand the death penalty, but the true test will be whether it can get enough votes in the full Senate to override a veto by Gov. Tim Kaine.

The Senate Courts Committee on Wednesday advanced one bill to expand the death penalty to murder accomplices and another to allow it for those who kill a fire marshal or his assistant while on the job.

For the past two years Kaine has vetoed expansion of Virginia's "triggerman rule," which reserves capital punishment for the person who actually does the killing. While the House had enough votes to overturn the veto, the Senate came up short both years.

Virginia has executed more inmates than any state except Texas since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976

The bill would repeal Virginia's "triggerman" rule, which allows for only the gunman to be tried for capital crimes.

The legislation is based on at least 5 cases in which only one person involved with a crime could be tried for capital punishment.

Most recently the case of the Beltway Sniper in 2002 illustrates the problem with the current law, said Jared Walczak, Obenshain's legislative assistant.

In this case, 2 men fatally shot 10 people in the Washington area. John Allen Muhammad, 48, is awaiting appeals on death row. His accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, 23, is serving several consecutive life sentences without parole.

"Muhammad pulled the trigger as far as they can tell, but should he get a different sentence than Malva?" Walczak said.

Sen. Robert Hurt, R-19, sits on the Senate Courts of Justice committee that heard the bill. He said that he has supported the bill in previous years and will continue to support it.

Conspirators of murder should all be treated the same, Hurt said. He also used the Muhammad and Malvo case as an example of what the legislators aim to fight with this bill.

"Imagine the absolute horror of having unsuspecting people shot," he said. "It seems clear in all fairness that they should be treated the same."

Virginia law already allows for conspirators to be punished the same with the exception of the death penalty. "I support having this loophole fixed," he said.

Virginia has the "triggerman" loophole because it was created when the death penalty was under question, Walczak said.

Del. Todd Gilbert, R-15, introduced the bill in the House of Delegates for the 3rd year in a row earlier in the session. The House passed the bill as it has done in the past.

Frink used the example of a case in which two men entered a Richmond home and tied up the occupants. The 1st man ordered the 2nd to execute them and is not subject to trial for a death sentence, Frink said.

The Virginia General Assembly's House of Delegates has voted to expand the death penalty once again in the state with the nation's second-busiest death chamber.

The House voted 73-25 today to expand Virginia's "triggerman rule," which reserves capital punishment for the person who actually does the killing. The bill would allow the death penalty for any accomplice who shares the triggerman's intent to kill.

Then the House voted 75-22 to allow capital punishment for those who kill fire marshals and auxiliary police while on duty.

The Senate had already passed similar bills, but not by enough votes to override a likely veto.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Roman Catholic who is opposed to capital punishment, has vetoed the triggerman bill the last two years and has indicated he would do so to other efforts to expand the death penalty.

A bill to expand the death penalty to those who assist in a murder but don't do the actual killing is on its way to Gov. Timothy Kaine.

For the past two years, Kaine has vetoed bills to expand Virginia's "triggerman rule," which reserves capital punishment for the person who actually does the killing. The bill would allow the death penalty for any accomplice who shares the triggerman's intent to kill.

Without debate, the Democrat-controlled Senate voted 24-13 to pass the bill. That's three votes shy of the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override a veto.

DO you think he will sign it this time or do you see him vetoing it again ! lets hope he signs it for Pete's sake

Justice is not about bringing back the dead. It is not about revenge either. Justice is about enforcing consequences for one's own actions to endorse personal responsibility. We cannot expect anyone to take responsibility for their own actions if these consequences are not enforced in full.

There's an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch which indicates that the death penalty is still a possibility for Daryl Atkins, whose case was used by the US Supreme Court to ban the execution of the mentally retarded.